I am so excited to start doing this {Photographers that Inspire} series. It took me a little while to work up the courage to start reaching out to those who inspire me, but this year is all about getting over the FEAR and hopefully inspiring others.
I can't pinpoint when I first ran across Annie Armitage's work, but I remember feeling the color and emotion in everything that she does. She made me feel every mood, every look, every moment and I was smitten. She is absolutely amazing and I am honored that she said yes to being our first interviewee for this series!
Where do you live?
Kingston upon Thames, SW London, UK with my husband Tony and 11 year old son, Peter.What describes your style?
I actually have no idea – I wish I knew!
What is your favorite thing{s} to shoot?
At the moment.....teenagers, families with young children and women’s head shots
Name 3 things that would describe you
Kind,
Passionate,
Tenacious
What is your favorite lens?
Canon 85mm L 1.2 – I love it with a passion!!!!
Do you struggle with finding balance between work and family? How do you handle it?
I only found what I finally wanted to do with my life 6 years ago and I have had quite a journey to be where I am now. Photography is now so huge in my life! But it is a constant battle as far as work/life balance. I am working hard to build a business particularly in the current economic conditions so my family have been very patient knowing that it is all going to be OK in the long run.......
If you weren't a photographer, what would you want to be doing? Personal assistant is one of the many “service” type jobs that I used to do.........if I didn’t have to earn anything I would go back to singing which is my first love.
What do you wish you were better at? Or could do more of?
Off camera flash and studio work.....but it is all about more training and practice!
How do you prepare for a shoot?
For my family shoots I always visit them a few days before hand so I am aware of their requirements and also the children are more at ease when I arrive on the day. My equipment is all checked, batteries charged the day before and I research some ideas of what I can do differently.
Can you briefly describe your workflow?
After the shoot I download all the RAW images and back up on two external hardrives and a DVD. I then edit down to around 80-100 images for a family shoot, batch rename process the RAW and convert to PSDs. I then look at each image individually to see what it needs as in which of my actions to use and any retouching on portraits up to a certain point for a viewing standard. After the processing has been done I convert to JPEGS in both high and low resolution. I then back up everything again!! The low resolution files are used in an Animoto slideshow production for the introduction to the viewing.
If you could give other photographers one piece of advice, what would it be?
Be a business person first, photographer second..............it is has taken me a long time to take that one in!
Who inspires you?
My clients, new projects, exhibitions, gallery visits. One of my favourite photographers is Fer Juaristi from Mexico - I love his work. It is all well and good trying to do what is right for qualifications and competitions but he inspires me to “think out of the box” and go with a gut instinct of not being afraid to do something that is different which won’t necessarily win awards but it will stir the heart instead......I think that is far more important!
To see more of Annie's work you can visit her
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